Red Hat Announces Indefinite Support for RHEL Versions

At the Red Hat Summit 2026 event held in Atlanta from May 11th to 14th, Red Hat, a subsidiary of IBM, announced the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Long-Life Add-on, which provides indefinite support for specific versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

I need to keep this version of RHEL running forever

Ashesh Badani (Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer of Red Hat Enterprise Linux), who took the stage at the keynote speech held on May 12th (local time), said with a serious look from multiple customers that, ``No joke, we need to keep running this version of RHEL forever,'' and announced the ``Red Hat Enterprise Linux Long-Life Add-on,'' which provides unlimited support.

Some of you looked me in high and said we need to run that version of RHEL forever without a hint of sarcasm, and for that we're announcing Red Hat Enterprise Linux Long Live Add-on, a yearly subscription with indefinite support once you reach the end of extended support, critical security fixes, bug resolutions, and more, for as long as you need them.

Several customers have told me with great seriousness, "No kidding, we need to keep this version of RHEL running forever." That's why we're announcing the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Long Live Add-on. This is an annual subscription that provides unlimited support after Extended Support ends, ensuring that you receive important security fixes, bug fixes, and more for as long as you need them.

Further solidifying the position of Linux as a social infrastructure

The Red Hat Enterprise Linux Long Live add-on is said to be delivered with systems in mind that operate in mission-critical environments such as global communications, medical, and aerospace, with decades-long hardware refresh and regulatory cycles.

As explained, Linux has become an important piece of software that runs social infrastructure, and there is ample need for unlimited support. It certainly makes sense for the largest Linux distribution vendors to support this.

On the other hand, unlimited support for Linux OS is being provided in advance by TuxCare, one of AlmaLinux's main sponsor companies, as "Endless Lifecycle Support (ELS) for OSS" (provided by Cybertrust in Japan).

Red Hat's announcement can be said to be an attempt to counter this.

In any case, the situation in which Red Hat, TuxCare, and multiple companies provide Linux support indefinitely should further solidify the position of Linux and open source as social infrastructure.